Al-Bayhaqī narrates in Aḥkām al-Qurān and his Madkhal: Al-Muzanī and al-Rabīʿ said: One day, we were with al-Shāfiʿī when an old man came to him and said, "May I ask a question?" Al-Shāfiʿī said, "Ask." The man said, "What is 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 in the religion of Allāh?"

Al-Shāfiʿī replied, "The Book of Allāh." The man asked, "And what else?" al-Shāfiʿī said, "The sunnah of the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him." The man asked, "And what else?" He said, "The consensus of the ummah."

The man then asked, "Where did you get the consensus of the ummah from? From the Book of Allāh?" Al-Shāfiʿī pondered for a moment. The old man said, "I give you three days." Al-Shāfiʿī's complexion changed, and then he left and did not come out for three days.

On the third day, al-Shāfiʿī emerged from his house, and the old man immediately arrived, greeted him, and sat down. He said, "My question?" Al-Shāfiʿī said, "Yes: I seek refuge in Allāh from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Allāh Almighty said: 'And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows a path other than that of the believers, We will give him what he has chosen and let him burn in Hell—what an evil destination' (Q 4:115).

He would not burn him in Hell for opposing the path of the believers unless it were obligatory [to adhere to]." The old man said, "You have spoken the truth," then stood up and left. Al-Shāfiʿī said: "I read the Qurān three times every day until I figured this."

Meaning: three times every day for three days, so nine times. All scholars after him followed him in this great extraction. رضي الله عنه.